Which company issued the first known dividend in 1602?

The Dutch East India Company issued the first known dividend associated with a modern public company. Founded in 1602, the company is better known by its Dutch name, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or VOC.

The VOC was created by the Dutch government by merging several competing trading ventures and granting them a monopoly over Dutch trade with much of Asia. It raised capital by selling tradable shares to a broad group of investors, helping establish features associated with modern public companies and stock markets.

The date in the question needs a small correction: 1602 was the VOC’s founding year, not the year of its first dividend. Historical accounts generally place its first dividend payment in 1610, when investors received spices rather than ordinary cash. A cash dividend followed in 1612. The company later became known for substantial distributions, averaging roughly 18% annually over much of its existence.

The VOC is often confused with the English East India Company, founded in 1600. Both were major chartered trading companies, but the Dutch company is the one linked to the earliest recorded regular public-company dividends.